WSU Interim President Dan Bernardo is taking on a new role at the university, narrating WSU Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of “Peter and the Wolf.”
“When they invited me, I thought it would be a unique experience that I’d have only because I’m in this position,” Bernardo said.
The free performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s children’s classic is 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in Bryan Hall, and will be livestreamed by WSU Global Connections on YouTube. The show opens with music from The Merry Widow and concludes with “Rhapsody in Blue.”
“Being the narrator is like being one of the instruments in the orchestra,” said Bernardo, who played trumpet in college. “The narrator has a very defined role, and has to come in at the right time and with the right tone.”
Bernardo’s trumpet experience quickly became apparent, said conductor Danh Pham, assistant professor of music. “He paces his speech patterns based on the sounds he hears,” Pham said. “He’s brought his own flair and interpretation—and made musical decisions that sound awesome.”
Music students were “star-struck” to learn they’d be playing alongside the university’s interim president, Pham said.